The Business of War
Orchestrated By C.M. Rich (Magnetman)
Bloodbath in Russia
By Hunter, Naop
Scenario E
[(\./)]
Participants:
General Cutman (SA)
Fatal Five (W)
Tech Tyrants (C)
Location: Chelyabinsk,
Russia
Max. Cossack Scrap Value: 6473
SA Infantry: 1549
RPD Units: 1202
Wily Bots: 225
Chelyabinsk, Russia. In the last hours, this peaceful town had
been transformed in a close imitation of the Apocalypse.
The Fatal Five were gathered in the ruins of a house, the remaining
drones of their force patrolling around. As they were resting,
Riff thought back of how he got himself into that mess...
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EARLIERThe five robots were gathered in their private area of the castle, along with an old friend of theirs, and someone they hoped they never had to talk with in private.
"I'd first like to congratulate you about your mission in Anchorage", began Wily. "These maps of the pipeline are accurate enough for my next goal there, and these recordings of the new SA robots will be useful. However..."
He drew out pics revealing the internal structure of one of the Fatalists. A red circle was drawn around the energy systems.
"Explain this."
Riff gulped, and began to explain. "Sir, one of the problems in our previous missions was the default in Warpman's batteries. Many times, his inopportunate shutdown took victory away from us."
"Didn't you think there was a reason for this ? Why would I build a faulty robot on purpose, I, Albert Wily ?"
Karasû stood up to defend his leader. "We were aware of this, but we're at war, and we need everything that could help us."
The german doctor looked at the Fatalist before going on. "That's a point ... But more importantly, who adapted this battery onto Warpman ?"
Henry sheepishly raised a hand, soon followed by an interested nod from the Doctor. "Amazing ... I didn't know I programmed you with such skills. You learn quite fast."
"Anyways, " he carried on. "It's time to test the batteries in action again. A large concentration of the Scissor Army has been spotted south of Chelyabinsk, and it's led by an Officer. Your mission is to record this Officer while he fights the RPD, and comes back to the castle."
"What about the civilians, sir ?" started Riff.
"Bah ! They'll be evacuated soon enough. Now, go and complete this mission !"
The Fatalists saluted in unison. "Yes, sir !"
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PRESENT DAY"An Officer ... On top of it, it's the most dangerous element of the SA !" Riff muttered.
The mission hadn't gone well. Karasû's raven-soldiers set on spying had nearly all been destroyed, and the only one that came back had extremely bad news :
"General Cutman. He's here."
On top of this, his group had been spotted by the RPD, and they had been forced to retreat.
The devil incarnated, the RPD shooting anyone in sight down, and their force reduced to a shadow of its former self. If they came out of this alive, Riff promised himself to set a candle in the first church he'd find.
Not that I'm a believer, but I'll need to thanks someone for this luck...
Once he considered they had rested enough, Riff commanded the group to move out. This was the worst stealth mission they had to do : any mistake, and they were cold dead.
Finally, the Battons reported a group of robots affilitaed neither with the RPD nor the SA, a few metres away.
Cossackers ! I'll try my luck with them.
They all walked to said location, and discovered four robots, escorting humans. The robots' themes were easily recognizable, as every original Wily-Bot : a pirate, a driller, a winged humanoid, and ...
"Astro Man ?" Riff was surprised, as well as relieved. They helped out each other back in Sao Paulo, and it was time to return the favor.
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“Isn’t that…?” AstroMan began, as he signalled his team to lower their weapons. “Riff!!! Thank goodness.” He shook the F5 leader’s hand.“Nice bumping into you here…” Riff admitted.
“Yes, this place is hell on earth. We were on our way out, although it’s easier said than done.” The Tyrant replied.
“Wait! Those guys gave us trouble at the end of Sao Paulo’s! How do we know we can trust them?” GroundMan barged in on the conversation, while Tengu and Pirate got in front of the humans they were protecting (a bunch of elderly people). In fact, only Astro and Riff seemed to be relieved, while the rest of their teams kept their deadly gazes at each other, a little resentful from their initial meeting.
“Look, we can’t help you get out… we have our hands full right now.” Riff explained. “But we won’t stop you either, so there’s no need to be at each others’ throats.” He addressed both his team and Astro’s.
“What is your mission?” AstroMan inquired.
“We are to gather intel on the leader of the Scissor Army. He is here, leading the invasion.” Riff confessed.
“WHAT?!” the Fatal Five shouted in unison. “How could you spill the beans like that?” WarpMan was the first to complain.
“Look, as it stands, we are in no position to turn down any help we can get…” Riff stated, and Staccato nodded in agreement, always the first to follow their leader.
“Wait a second there!” TenguMan interrupted. “Who said we were going to help you?”
“I did…” AstroMan answered, much to everyone’s surprise. A woman, one of the elderly, fainted and fell on the arms of her husband. “Or rather, I do now. This is the best chance we’ll have to get so close to our enemy.”
“I hope you realize this might be a tad too much for us, even if we combine forces.” Riff warned.
“I hear ya, but I’m getting sick of this war. And the fact that the battlefield is now our backyard, doesn’t leave me a choice.” Astro was aware that if Russia was invaded, Dr. Cossack’s little army would fall in no time.
“What about the doc’s friends?” Pirate was worried about the humans they were escorting.
“Now that is a good question…” Astro took a moment to consider. “We’ll have to split up, like we did on Johannesburg. You and Lyonskar take the hostages out of here. Dig a tunnel, hide in the bushes, I don’t care. Just get the hell out. Kusa and I will stay and help.”
The Tyrants knew by now that their leader wasn’t easily convinced, and it did seem like a good plan, so they all complied. Pirate and Ground got moving, with the people close behind them. Tengu however, was not happy. “This is getting out of hand, Naop… you owe me. You owe me big.”
Astro shrugged it off and got closer to the F5. “So, what’s the plan, guys?”
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"We planned on getting closer to the fighting area, in order to spy on the General while he fights the RPD."Astro nodded, but Tengu let out a comment : "Wait a minute ... You mean GENERAL Cutman is here ?"
"Exactly. But seeing how you guys joined us, I wouldn't mind doing an assassination..." Riff's face filled with anger as he spoke.
AstroMan judged wise not to point that out - for now. "I see how we could make it work..."
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Pirateman was patrolling the area near Groundman's digging zone, in fear that the drilling sound would draw ennemies in.When he judged he could slip out a second, he ran in, and questioned his firend : "How much more time, Lyonskar ? The Army could get in any time !"
"That's not a particularly strong stone, but it's still a long way to get out of the teleport shield", replied the ground-digging robot.
Tread-like noises came from the open. Fearing what they would see, the two Robot Masters ran out, only to see two small vehicles bearing a strong ressemblance to Groundman's alternate form.
"Drill Tanks ? These Fatal Five are nicer than they look."
Groundman nodded, and headed back to the tunnel, followed by the drones. Two additionnal drillers would take them out of here in no time...
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Elsewhere, on another battlefield, the General seemed satisfied with the outcome of the battle. His forces, wonderfully coordinated, were methodically destroying every group of RPD resistance. But something was missing..."I'd think that, by now, they would have dispatched a whole Team to send after me. Kyehehe ... It's not everyday you can take out the leader of a whole faction."
He was about to go in town, and get himself busy, when he spotted a bright point on top of a building, not far from him.The whole town around him was grey, as expected from a city from ex-USSR during Winter, and the deduction was easy.
"Wonderful ... A fine distraction for me..."
He opened his hands, and two pairs of rusty-looking, damaged Rolling Cutters appeared in his palms.
"It's been quite a time since I got to take on a whole Team ... Kyeheh ... Kyahaha !"
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The small group spotted by the General was composed of AstroMan, TenguMan and Karasû. The three flyers' mission was to lure the General in a trap formed by the remaining Fatalists."He's coming our way", noticed Karasû.
"Just as planned. You know what to do." replied Astroman. The tengu-based robots both nodded and jumped out of the building.
Karasû took the first move, and used his staff to gather a storm around him. He raised it, and several lighting bolts came out of the magically summoned clouds, tracking the General down.
Something seemed strange, tough. The DLN-003 model wasn't reknown for bad insulation, but the General was dodging each bolt as if his life depended on it.
"We seem to have found an electrophobe, companions !" This all made their task easier. All he had to do was to send the bolts in the right direction...
The plan was stopped dead, when a duster-wearing, orange blurr jumped from window to window, and once on top of the building, threw a Rolling Cutter at the raven-bot. The blades landed right in his chest, and the boomerang effect cut his lower beak in half.
As Karasû fell to the ground, the General jumped on him, his duster making him look like a ghostly apparition. The Fatalist merely had the time to draw a rune of protection with his right hand before the Orange Bastard jumped on him. His armor was reinforced by the spell, but nothing could stop the assault of such a furious monster. He slashed through the torso, revealing Karasû's entrails to the world and opening them like old bags. He then severed his limbs, taking a special interest in cutting off the right hand - who casted the thunder spell.
When they landed, Karasû was merely recognizable - nothing but a pile of scrap, bathing in his own blood. The General removed the Cutters from the body, and glanced at the Tyrants.
"Who's next ?"
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Astroman was completely shocked by the scene he just saw. It was so quick - and gruesome. Karasû maybe was a Wily-Bot, but he didn't deserve this."Try to catch up with us, ugly !" he yelled, as he summoned his signature move - the Astro Crush. The General ran to a building entrance in order to dodge the rain of meteors, and he ran after the Tyrants as they fled away.
He threw one of his Cutters, but Tenguman deflected it with his own Tengu Blade. They had their goal in sight, when a horrible vision came as they turned their heads back : the General was catching up on them, even though they were at maximum speed.
He jumped high in the sky, the air screaming around his blades, and landed on Astroman, decaptitating the space robot - which exploded in a torrent of green light.
"My, my ... You're as meddlesome as Shadowman, I'll give you that." he said, as the real Astroman came out of a parallel street. "What is the program for the next festivities ?"
The only answer was a deluge of bombs that appeared next to the General's feet. As he caught sight of it, he tried to jump and dodge, but he found himself frozen in place.
As the bombs detonated, four robots walked out of their hiding spot, and levelled their weapons to where the General was. The Fatal Five were ready for the final strike...
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Karasû was dying. But he was not afraid, as he somehow expected such a fate. He concentrated his psychic energy, and summoned his followers.Eight small raven-bots appeared out of thin air, and picked up his limbs. They knew their mission : carrying their master's body back to the Castle.
As Karasû's consciousness faded away, he had a last thought for his leader, Riff.
Good Luck.
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He was still alive. Though his duster was good enough for rags, the General still seemed to be fully functionnal. He took out his blades ... and chuckled."Crash Bombs, and Time Stopper. I only know of five robots who could do that trick, but Karasû's presence gave his identity away. Am I wrong, Warpman ?"
The bulky-built robot was taken aback. "How do you know that, monster ?"
"Monster ? Me ? Heheheh ... Kyahaha ! And to think you're the most unfinished prototype of us ! All I can say is that a good friend of yours gave me nice information."
"Actually", said Riff, and the General turned to him, his expression now serious, "it's the reason I want to deal with you now. For the Mercs. They were our ... rivals, and you tricked them in becoming monsters."
"I tricked them, you say ? You're dead wrong. They followed me from their own will. Does it surprise you ?"
Riff didn't reply. He nodded to Lento, who immediately fired his mortar on the General. The Orange Bastard threw his Cutter on the projectile - it didn't generate a huge explosion, but the scissor slowed down as it came back, finally stopping in mid-air.
"I'll make you a proposal, Riff. You seem to like the army, isn't it ? And my force could go with such skilled Officers as you. Join me, and no harm will be done to you, or your Team, which, I believe, could be called the Fatal Four by now..."
"WHAT ?" The cry of rage came from Staccato. He gripped his foils and charged at the General, surprised by such a reaction. "Thou shall pay for Karasû !"
He charged blades first, and the General didn't do an effort to dodge, as he got impaled by the foils. He glared in the knight's eyes, and muttered, so that only him could hear : "Checkmate."
The stopped Cutter sprang back to life, and arrived directly in the back of Staccato's head. Cutman picked the scissor in his right hand, produced his remaining set of blades in the other, and in a swift move, severed Staccato's arms. He then kicked the knight's body, and it fell to the ground like a stump.
"There's no point in -hghnn- opposing me, Riff." calmly said the General, as he removed the foils from his body. "Soon, you'll see the -hghn- best side is the SA."
The Fatal five leader was frozen in place - the being in front of him murdered his teammates so easily, and he had the nerve to propose him to join his side !
"This will never work." He opened fire on the General, soon followed by Lento, Warpman and the Tyrants. Their opponent was the center of a fireworks show, dodging every projectile as if he was dancing a complicated choregraphy. He jumped on Tenguman, blocked his arms, and put a Cutter under his throat.
"I suggest you all cease fire, or this fellow will cease to be." To add emphasis, he dug his blade deeper, and blood came out of Tengu's throat.
"Kusa !" Astroman was about to charge and protect his comrade, when Riff motioned him to stop.
"He doesn't lie. Do as you're told, and he may keep him alive."
"I see you're reasonable, Riff. I will leave you and keep my word, for now." He removed his blade, only to sever the Tengu-Blade arm and throw it away. Tenguman's scream didn't cover his next words : "Have some fun with my followers !"
The wall nearby exploded, as a whole battalion of Scissor Joes rushed in. Riff's eyes flickered from the General to the Joes, and back to the General, but he had already disappeared.
They had to fight for their lives.
"Astro ! Grab Tengu and run away ! We'll deal with them !" The remaining drones of his force came to the battlefield, and started delmiting a security perimeter between the SA and the small coalition.
"Warpman ! Get Staccato and warp out of here !" both rescuing groups headed out, but before leaving, the Cossacker summoned an Astro Crush. Riff nodded to him, and resumed firing on the SA.
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"Naop to Lyonskar ! Where are you ?""We went out of the teleporting field. What's the mat-"
"Give me the coordinates immediately ! The General got Kusa, and he sent Joes after us !"
After a few minutes of frantical escape, fuelled by fear and pure adrenaline, Astroman finally stopped, catching his breath.
"The humans are safe ?" he questionned.
Pirateman nodded. "We were waiting for you before we teleport out. How are the Fatal Five ?"
"We can pray for them. That's all we can do."
No more words came from the Tyrants, and the humans they escorted, as they teleported out of the bloodbath.
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LATER"Are you sure they'll be alright, Henry ?" questioned the Fatalist leader.
"Well, they only got severed limbs, and blade attacks. It won't take much time to repair them." replied the former Joe bartender.
"Useful information from the fights ?"
"We found something ... strange. Apparently, the General is afraid of electric-based attacks. We may use it as a mean to trap him later on."
"Thanks, Henry. Now, if you can excuse me", he explained to the Fatalists assembled, "there's something I must do alone."
He headed to the Castle's lower levels, to a room only him knew - or cared to remember. He took out a candle and a lighter from his pocket.
All this stuff he told me about the Mercs ... It can't be true. Hunter is ... was a good guy. He's been trapped in an awful way.
It just gives me another reason for this.
He lighted the candle, and kneeled in front of it. As he closed his eyes, he recited a silent prayer to whoever permitted him to live through this day. He also prayed for the Mercs, hoping they would be saved soon.
No one answered.
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The General came out of the repair bay. He only suffered minor damages, but some thoughts troubled his mind.First, there was Karasû. Was it possible he may have known of his "phobia" ? It was more likely to be a coincidence, though. But by now, Cossackers and Wily's forces would know of this crucial point...
Sheer luck could be my downfall. I'll have to be more careful later on.
But the town fell to the Scissor Army, and this was the most important. Cossack should understand his days were soon to end.
He opened the door, and spotted Quint, waiting on a simple wooden chair. He looked scared, maybe from the fact he lost in Murmansk, and from the fact that Enker and Punk, right now, were in the hands of Mesmerman for discipline.
Quint, who had set up this database which provided help to the General back there. The first one who willingly joined the Army.
Quint, who miserably failed twice to the RPD.
The General reached into his duster pocket and took out a simple pocket watch. He opened the clasp.
"You have two minutes to explain yourself, starting when I say "now." Then, you will receive your punishment."
General Cutman looked at the watch. The quiet ticking filled the room.
"Now."
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